Making Towels Soft?

I move here to a deep well place and instantly my towels went like cardboard. I have a front load washer. We put a water softener in and it help with the soap not having to use as much but the towels are not as bad but still rough. I hate using fabric softener because it the towels aren't as absorbent but I have to but I use about 1/4-3rd of the fabric softener and it seems to work not bad. I tried it all. vinegar work a tiny bit but not much. Yes I did the hot water washing with all the way vinegar, washing soda, baking soda, nothing :) I tried them all. using the small amount of fabric softener works the best for me. Not ideal but until I move to a soft water place again I guess I'm stuck with it.

I thought the water softener would solve everything :) but it didn't. But I must say it 95% better than it was..